Leopard Gecko Tail Waving Question?

[eirinmc]

To All May Concern:

I have Leopard Gecko question and question is I was wondering what is behavior of when Leopard Gecko Waves it's tail back in forth?

From:

Eirin

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As of 10/28/09 Thank You for all of your replies.

 

[acpart]

Slowly waving the tail back and forth says "this is my territory and I may get upset with you if you don't back off"

Aliza

 

[marieandchrisx4]

hes feeling threatend if your going in his tank from abouve he will think your a threat what i do is put my hand in then slowly show them my hand from the side of them then slowly go towords them my baby male is still warrie but my baby female she just lets me pic her up now no problems i think she can hear the plastic move lol and same with my big boy i can just go in and pic them up

 

[Holly123]

If the tail is making slow, deliberate movements then like the guys said above, he's not very happy with you being there. They also move the end of their tail rapidly when stalking prey (this applies mostly to younger leos) - no idea why they do it lol!

 

[Leopardgeckoz]

There is actually many reasons as to why a leopard gecko would wave its tail. For example if a leopard gecko only waved its tail when it is upset why would it wave its tail while feeding?

Yes traditionally at people a leopard gecko would either be displaying excitement because it may associate you coming towards the tank as feeding time. Or it can be a "gecko warning" not necessarily aggression. Your leo is either saying yay! Or go away before I give you a love nip!

I used to have an albino who would wag her tail right before striking at me, but I have also had leos who just do it to do it. So it really depends on the gecko.

 

[marieandchrisx4]

yes holly thats so true my male and female babys do that when there ready to catch there pray is so cute and funny my big leo thats 9" long he just waits till they pass him then just flys for them but yes they can do it with food but most times if not used to being handled they shake there tail if feel threatend just be carefull as they can detach the tail and not a nice sight when happens they wiggle there tails in the wild if a preditor is near so they go for the tail and they then detached it and then they run off safe and sound just a smaller tail

 

[CSMGecko]

I have seen all my leos doing a quick tip of the tail flicker right before they strike at food. My females don't do it as much as my male and babies do. My male does it everytime before he strikes a cricket. It's pretty funny because if he is stalking and goes behind one of the hides and I can see his tail do it...and I'm like, another cricket down!...lol.

 

[marieandchrisx4]

i wounder how we can post videos and post vids of geckos that wiggle there tail pmsl

 

[baseball2k26]

I have seen all my leos doing a quick tip of the tail flicker right before they strike at food. My females don't do it as much as my male and babies do. My male does it everytime before he strikes a cricket. It's pretty funny because if he is stalking and goes behind one of the hides and I can see his tail do it...and I'm like, another cricket down!...lol.

Hm this would be interesting to see. It might be a way for them to balance.

 

[GeckoGirl1990]

My leos both wag their tails VIOLENTLY when they're chasing crickets, not so much for mealworms. I'm positive that its just an expression of excitement lol. However, sometimes when I let them out of the cage to 'explore' and someone approaches them too quickly, they will hold their tails straight up and slowly wave the tail back and forth. This pretty much means they were startled, and could be thinking about dropping their tail! So you don't want to see the slow tail waving much, if at all =/

 

[CSMGecko]

I think it is more of a warning for other leos that may be around as a "don't come over here and scare my food away". It appears the same type of motion as a rattler does when he is either in danger or about to strike. Same concept I would imagine but not too positive because not really all of them do it. It appears mainly to be a male thing.

 

[MellowMan24]

i posted a vid a while back and no one said anything.....Note it was right before cleaning and i wanted him to eat first before catching him and i noticed he was wagging his tail alot so i grabbed the camera thats why there is alot of poo.
heres the link: http://www.geckosunlimited.com/community/leopard-geckos-other-eublepharis/43553-my-leo-eating.html

 

[3mily]

Hi I do believe it’s either a warning or when they’re just hunting. I have an add-on question if that’s okay? I’m new to this forum stuff haha - is there a case where they’ll waive their tail quite strongly when exploring? My Leo does that when it wants to explore a certain corner of my bed, it freaks me out though so I always put her back in her enclosure when that happens...is that behaviour normal? I don’t want to shorten her “fun time”

 

[acpart]

For best results you probably should start your own thread. But to answer, the gecko is probably doing the "territory" thing as it goes into a new place to check out. It's fine to leave her out to explore.

Aliza